Science centre founder marks milestone

Australia’s first hands-on science centre reached the quarter century mark recently, having grown from a small ANU project into one of the nation’s most successful tourism and education drawcards.

ANU physicist Mike Gore founded Questacon in 1980, inspired by the success of the Exploratorium in San Francisco.

The original displays and workshops in the old Ainslie Public School were intended for school groups, but this humble setting was soon bursting at the seams as visitor numbers swelled.

In 1984 the Federal Government announced plans for a National Science and Technology Centre, based on the Questacon interactive philosophy. The new national centre opened in 1988. Today, over 300,000 people visit the centre each year.

Professor Gore, from the Centre for the Public Awareness of Science at ANU, says he always believed that an interactive science centre would be a success in Australia.

“It is important that we have a national focus for science and technology. In the 1980s there were focal points for just about every cultural expression in Canberra, but not science and technology, which was rather curious.

“Even back then, Canberra was about science, with ANU, CSIRO, and all the other agencies. The city has an abundance of science institutions.”

Professor Gore, who is also the founding director of Questacon, lists his founding of the Shell Questacon Science Circus as one of his major achievements. The University is a partner in the circus, which travels to the most remote regions of the country. 

“Science inspires me most, and purveying science to the public — whether it is in Canberra, in the Kimberley, or down in Tasmania, it's very exciting,” Professor Gore said.

“Questacon has many programs that travel around the country. As a national centre it goes out to the people, many of whom will never come to the capital, and will never see the building on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin. It’s like the mountain and Mohamed. We take science to the people.”

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